Lists
7 tracks that made Circoloco's opening the most exhilarating yet
We’re in Ibiza, it’s summer, it's time for DC-10
Ibiza Airport is a wasteland when we arrive on Monday morning. A cleaners’ strike has plunged the building into filthy disorder, with overflowing bins spilling across sticky floors. It resembles the sight of a club dancefloor post-closing, when all the crowds have departed the building and left the sizable traces of a heavy session. Not the most pleasant introduction, and yet somehow fitting to the chaotic spirit of the island. While most of the White Isle’s dancefloors are currently in the most pristine state they’ll see for months, the Circoloco opening party tonight marks the launch of another debauched summer season that will serve up plenty of opportunities to get down and dirty, in more ways than one.
Anticipation crackles in the air on the approach to DC-10. “I can hear it!” a roadside voice calls out excitedly as the weight of sound escaping the enclosed area begins to seep out and be felt within bodies and ears. In the queue, voices babble eagerly, planes fly low overhead and add a mechanical growl to the hubbub. Feet shuffle forward, slowly but surely filing into one of Ibiza’s best-loved spots for the first time this year, aside from the odd rejection of a punter who has peaked too early, curtailing their night before its begun.
And then suddenly we’re in, getting swept up instantly in a current of exhilarating club vibes and not breaking out for the remainder of the party. Check out the tracks that kicked the Ibiza season into action below.
Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Staff Writer, follow him on Twitter
KiNK ‘Chorus’
Kerri Chandler, Garden
We’re in Ibiza, it’s summer and Kerri Chandler is helming the booth: three firm reasons why DC-10’s outdoors area, the Garden, proves an extremely popular choice for punters, with a full to the brim floor basking in the warm open air and dancing to the sounds of the New Jersey house icon. Kerri takes control just as day fades and night draws in, and he pulls no punches in transitioning the crowd into full-blown party mode, firing out a pacy slew of pumping house heaters. With the crowd bathed in the light of Circoloco’s signature red glow, and images of its delirious clown logo flanking the perimeters, a sense of devilish abandon spreads like wildfire through the up-for-it audience, that lose themselves in reckless moves and tribal roars of appreciation.
Butch ‘No Worries’ (Re-cut)
The Black Madonna, Terrace
The Black Madonna was our DJ of the year in 2016 and her turn on the Terrace underlines why she was so deserving of the accolade. Versatility courses though her set, one that darts from funky horn sections down into fizzing acid lines, and stitches swirling mystical house together with euphoric piano chords, snapping listeners from blissful sways into fist-pumps at a moment’s notice. Behind the decks she’s a force of nature, working the mixer with the gusto of a jackhammer, and clapping, singing, and booty shaking along to her selections from the likes of Mele, Joey Negro and Butch.
The swirling, spiky vortex of Pearson Sound’s ‘XLB‘ stands out as a highlight, sending the dancefloor into headfuck territory before piecing them back together with the soulful sounds of Womack & Womack. As her set draws to a close a pair of knickers fly from the crowd in her direction and she holds them aloft with a delighted grin. You earned ‘em, Marea.
George Morel ‘Let’s Groove’
DJ Tennis, Terrace
DJ Tennis is wearing an optically interesting black and white patterned t-shirt with pentagon outlines shrinking inwards. It’s trippy attire, and he matches this mood with an opening glide into transcendent textures that saturate the room with colourful synths and juddering basslines. Steadily the bite at the heart of his set grows more robust, as sweeping sounds give way to higher octane selections. There’s even scope for a few crowd pleasing anthems, with George Morel’s ‘Let’s Groove’ sending the room into raptures.
Outlander ‘Vamp’ (Frank De Wulf remix)
Seth Troxler Vs Jamie Jones, Garden
Seth Troxler and Jamie Jones’ closing set in the Garden is billed as a versus, but the two beloved Ibiza heavyweights are completely in sync at the controls. There’s a crispness to the air in the evening, but the thousands assembled to enjoy the final outside set of the night remain a hot and sweaty collective mass in the face of the energy Troxler and Jones charge the crowd with.
The sky is pitch black but for the bright burning of a few twinkling stars, providing a contrastingly still backdrop which the pair cut through with razor-sharp precision, filling their set with rolling snares and piercing percussive hits. When changing gear, they don’t hold back on the big, euphoric anthems. An edit of Sono’s ‘Keep Control’ inspires a hands raised sing-a-long, as the pair tease a gradual sweeping breakdown, before dropping back into piston-powered beats to screams of approval.
Delicious Inc. ‘Eau De Chanté’
Jackmaster, Terrace
The closing of the Garden at 2am, when Jackmaster steps up to take charge of the Terrace, is a tumultuous piece of programming. The Glaswegian party-starter is one of the biggest DJs on the island these days, and his popularity shows in the vast crowds that desert the Garden and make their way inside. The atmosphere in the room hits a peak, and the Numbers boss thrives in the environment, drawing for edits of recognisable classics such as ‘Good Life’ that have been given a big ‘beefa makeover with bolstered percussive hits and big, crunchy bass layers.
It’s a triumphant performance, accentuated by every figure in the booth ecstatically hugging him from over the shoulders and his best mate Jasper James losing his mind beside his compatriot with extroverted support. It's not Jack’s fault, but the busyness does detract from the set at points, with focus forcibly shifted away from the music and towards trying to stay vertical in the midst of crowd crushes.
D-56M ‘Question Authority’
DVS1, Main Room
American selector DVS1 rifles through the hardest set of the night, by some distance. His background as a warehouse rave promoter in the Midwest powers through to the fore, with weighty, industrial beats charging relentlessly across his 90-minute stint in the Main Room. He manages to play tough while still captivating the crowd, with forays into spooky, whirring and reverberating techno.
The room’s immersive décor adds to the experience. Glowing orbs hang from the ceiling and thin lasers shoot across the breadth of the room like a menacing grid guarding against a bank heist. Yet despite the high production levels, DVS1 himself is the most compelling sight. He contorts and convulses behind the decks, arms flying off the mixer with every twist and knees bouncing, torso jerking with the jagged rhythm of a perilous printer jam throughout, pausing only to soak up the sweat pouring down his face with a towel.
Landside 'Signs Of Change' (Robert Hood Remix)
Marcel Dettmann, Main Room
Few artists in dance music measure up to the majestic stature of Marcel Dettmann. He cuts a bold figure in the booth of the Main Room: poised, calm, towering. It’s a stark contrast to the scenes he stimulates around the room. Dancers gyrate vigorously, twisting their bodies to the muscular techno he hammers out of the rugged system. He shifts through atmospheres with deft skill, building to electro-tinged breakdowns and plunging into disorientating, moody depths. But the spacey moments never last too long: booming kicks coming back in with the propulsive energy of a cataclysmic thunder strike every single time.
Towards the end of his set a friend or fan grabs his attention in the booth and Marcel responds with an enthusiastic grin and friendly punch to the arm, before turning back to his composed position at the controls to continue laying waste to the floor. It’s a moment that sums him up: techno’s friendly giant, with a heart of gold and a record bag packed full of darkness.
